A Letter from Wu Sangui to Dorgon
Written by Wu Sangui, the Chief Commander of the Liaodong garrison, this letter is addressed to Dorgon, the Regent of the Manchu. In this letter Wu details a rebel attack on the capital which resulted in the emperor of China loosing the Mandate of Heaven and committing suicide. The letter then turns to extolling upon the Regent’s virtues, and requesting that he send aid to help Wu. Wu also offers all of the wealth and women that the rebels have as payment for the Manchu’s aid. However, Wu’s purpose for requesting said aid from a former enemy is unclear.
Wu’s letter begins with a very humble tone, which carries throughout the letter as he describes himself, his army, and the situation they face. However, when referring to the Regent from whom he is requesting aid Wu uses language that seems intended to flatter. He then uses an almost pleading tone as he bargains for the Regent’s aid.
The letter was written in 1644, the year of the Ming dynasty’s fall and the rise of the Qing dynasty. Because of the Liaodong garrison’s position in the far north it can likely be assumed that the Wu’s garrison was not involved directly with the rebellion or its immediate outcome at the capital.
Dorgon's Reply to Wu Sangui
This letter was also written in 1644 and is the response to a letter sent from Wu Sangui, the Chief Commander of the Liaodong garrison. In this letter Dorgon, the Regent of the Manchu, begins by describing the less than pleasant past relationship between the two dynasties. He then pardons past indiscretions and agrees to aid Wu Sangui. Within the letter Dorgon’s word choice conveys several different tones. In the beginning of the letter his word choice is quite strong and gives the impression...
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...when Qing China had become one of the world’s largest empires and was prosperous. The two Edicts begin by expressing the ways in which Qianlong was lenient and hospitable with Lord Macartney and his party. There are also sections that commend the king on his humility of his actions and requests. However, the remainder of the document proceeds to list the demands that Qianlong was presented with and the reasons why each were denied. This rejection of demands was likely a way to protect China from the British Empire, who was known to colonize other nations.
The beginning of the document is worded in such a way that it has an almost patronizing tone as the emperor praises the king’s humility. However, as the document progresses it becomes much firmer and in the final lines the tone becomes very harsh as the emperor warns the king to never act on his denied demands.
King begins his letter by establishing his credibility to the clergymen in order to assist in making his arguments stronger. His first words to the clergymen are “My Dear Fellow Clergymen.” By addressing the men in this way, King is implying that he is equal ...
"Chinese History - The Qing Dynasty ( AD 1644-1911 )." Chinavoc.com. 2007. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. .
... phrases, such as "the judgment of God" and "forfeit" (551) to make the reader feel seriousness about what is happening. Emotional appeal depends on the use of strong words. King knows this, and uses this to help get his idea across. The emotional appeal of the letter is his best accomplishment.
In his poem, “Notes from the City of the Sun”, Bei Dao utilizes obscure imagery consistent with the Misty Poets and veiled political references to illustrate the struggles in Chinese society during the Cultural Revolution. The poem is sectioned into fourteen short stanzas containing imagery that are symbolic of the cultural hegemony in China under the rule of Mao Zedong. Bei Dao, born Zhao Zhen-kai, is an anti-revolutionary poet and one of the founders of a group known as the Misty Poets. The Misty Poets wrote poems that protested the Cultural Revolution led by Mao Zedong. Therefore, a lot of Bei Dao’s poems speak out against the Cultural Revolution and the restrictions that it placed on any form of art. Bei Dao’s poetry is categorized as “misty” because of the ambiguity in its references to Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. An obscure imagery that occurs twice in “Notes” is the sun imagery. Another imagery that depicts the injustice of the Cultural Revolution is the description of freedom as scraps of paper. In the poem, Bei Dao also equates faith to sheep falling into a ditch; this is a depiction blind faith during the Cultural Revolution. The purpose of this essay is to analyze how Bei Dao’s use of the Misty Poet’s ambiguous imagery and implicit political context in the poem “Notes from the City of the Sun” to illustrate the cultural hegemony in China under Mao.
Initially, the chapter begins with the narrator?s mind-boggling confusion and his grandfather?s last words. [He=somewhat ambiguous. His grandfather] describes himself as a traitor and wants the narrator and his father to ??overcome ?em with yeses, undermine ?em with grins, agree ?em to death and destruction ?? (2359). The narrator doesn?t quite like this idea. He prefers conformity to revolt, because he thinks that ?? someday they would look upon me as a traitor and I would be lost? (2360).
Smarr, Janet. “Emperor Wu”. Making of the Modern World 12. Ledden Auditorium, La Jolla, CA. 17 Feb. 2012. Lecture.
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